[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[7:13] I'll call the meeting of Municipality District of St. Stephen Council of the Whole to order. So, first item of business, before I begin, I'd like to respectfully acknowledge that we are gathered today on the ancestral and unseated territory of the Biscotto-McCoddy people. And with that, I'd like to call for a motion before I call for a motion of approval agenda. I'd like to add one item under new business, and that's item five, correspondence from the City of Calis.
[7:42] So, with that, could I call for
[7:44] more somebody move the approval of the agenda as amended, moved by Councillor Brest, seconded by Deputy Mayor Greenlaw.
[7:52] Call for the question. All those in favor?
[7:55] Aye.
[7:56] Opposed?
[7:57] Carried.
[8:01] Disclosure of conflict of interest. Does anyone here this evening have a conflict of interest relative to the business of the evening?
[8:08] Hearing none,
[8:11] adoption of the minutes. Could I have a motion to adopt the minutes of the last council meeting?
[8:19] on April the 8th.
[8:23] I'll move by Councillor Morgan.
[8:27] Seconded by Councillor Wesselink.
[8:30] Are there any errors or emissions that you want to bring to the attention of the hearing none?
[8:36] I'll call for the question. All those in favor? Signed by saying aye.
[8:41] Opposed, nay? Carried.
[8:46] New business. Establishment of award information
[8:49] commission centers, second sessions.
[8:53] And so as many will remember, that was part of our campaigning progress.
[9:00] It was to increase potential for feedback to Council and for
[9:05] Council to be able to distribute more information.
[9:11] And so the general outline is put in your package.
[9:16] But I basically just want to like emphasize that the primary reason for this is to provide updates on municipal projects,
[9:23] services and strategic initiatives, present proposed capital projects, any policy and issues or changes,
[9:30] receive feedback from the residents regarding priorities and community needs, identify emerging issues,
[9:38] affecting specific neighborhoods and concerns, and allow residents to ask questions
[9:43] in a more informal setting and municipal staff open to a respectful setting and hopefully
[9:51] our goal is to strengthen relationships between the municipality and the community it serves.
[9:57] So the basic outline is there and so I'm asking tonight for approval to proceed with that
[10:05] arrangement and so I'd like to, before we all go around to each councilor and to see if
[10:11] do you have any questions or concerns about the policy
[10:14] as it was distributed?
[10:15] So I'll start with Councillor Westerling.
[10:20] Well, thank you very much, Mayor.
[10:22] Yeah, the only concern I've seen that residents have raised
[10:24] with the ward meetings is to not just label them
[10:27] as a rule or urban ward sort of setting.
[10:31] It's a meeting that should be attended by both rule
[10:33] and urban residents.
[10:36] We're probably just changing locations obviously
[10:38] for easier access to the rule side of things,
[10:40] but basically to keep the definitions out of the titles if that makes sense.
[10:48] With that, the main reason why we broke it up into rural and urban is that during the
[10:57] campaign, at least when I was doing both, the issues raised were considerably different
[11:03] between the rural areas and the urban areas.
[11:07] So, I'm assuming that the areas of discussion would be slightly different, but that doesn't prevent anybody from any ward attending the meetings.
[11:18] So, they'll be, and that way we have a focused meeting in Ward 1 and we'll have focused meetings in Ward 2 and they're actually interchangeable with people.
[11:27] So, I think we'll just keep, I would like to keep the names just so that people know that the main focus of the discussion will be on which one.
[11:35] but people are free to bring up, it's a mechanism for us as Councillors and a council to get feedback.
[11:42] So, anybody can go and anybody can give feedback and we're more than open to take it out.
[11:48] Okay, it's Councillor Best.
[11:52] Thank you. When I look at the information note,
[11:56] the one thing that comes to my mind is that up until now we've really enjoyed the ward meetings
[12:03] that we've had and I feel just a little bit concerned and I would probably go out and
[12:07] talk more to constituents about this about it not being councilor led as opposed to administration
[12:13] led. So I'm just a little bit concerned about whether or not that layer of administration
[12:18] in between would impact the way that the meetings are run or the flexibility or anything like
[12:24] that. So I just would want to look into that a little bit more.
[12:30] Yeah, I think that's the one comment I would have.
[12:33] Okay, actually I did look into that and it's required because if we go, if we go as a council and three of you attend an item, we're at quorum, whereas if it's a council sanctioned activity led by the administration, we don't, we're not covered by all the codes of having an official council meeting.
[12:53] And so it opens it up so that it makes the discussion freer and allows greater input.
[12:58] So that's the main reason why we chose to have it led by, or I chose to have it led by the administration rather than council.
[13:06] Thank you.
[13:07] Councillor Porter.
[13:08] Thank you.
[13:10] I think it's a great idea.
[13:11] We'll try it.
[13:12] If it doesn't work out, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
[13:17] Thank you.
[13:20] Councillor Morgan.
[13:22] I have no issues.
[13:25] That was easy. Councillor Cunningham. I'd like more training prior to taking the forefront
[13:33] because I would like to know like answering questions, what to do with the questions,
[13:38] what to do with the information because I get a lot of information fed to me, but then
[13:43] what do I do with it? I still don't have a clear explanation of what I do with that information
[13:48] where it goes, how to deal with it. So for me personally, I would like to have better
[13:52] training so that I'm not set up for failure?
[13:55] Well, I agree with more training and actually number three under new business is additional training.
[14:00] So I think we'll be doing the training before we do the meeting.
[14:04] So I hope that addresses your concern.
[14:07] Thank you.
[14:08] Finally, Deputy Mayor Greenlaw.
[14:10] No, I think it's a good idea to continue the practice and the only thing I just wanted to clarify so
[14:16] many per year is that calendar year because we started in June.
[14:20] So, is it June to June or January to December?
[14:23] Offensively of the calendar year, so it makes it easier to coordinate in time.
[14:30] Anything else?
[14:32] Okay.
[14:32] With that, I'll call for the question.
[14:37] Because it's a new thing, I'm going to ask each individual council to vote independently.
[14:42] So, Councilor Westerling.
[14:44] Oh.
[14:47] So accepting and initiating the program to have public meetings.
[14:53] So moved by Councillor Westerling, seconded by Councillor Morgan.
[15:00] Is it allowed to vote on something at this meeting? Or is it just we'll just take it back to our council meeting and vote on it. That's right. Yes, I'd like to answer that question. So yes, you can, you can vote at this meeting, but you're not in decision-making mode. So basically it would be that you would, that you're recommending it to council for formal approval.
[15:25] Could you, could you would like to make that motion, Councillor Westerling, since you called it.
[15:30] So the motion is that we're in agreement with the principal and we'll forward it to the
[15:36] council meeting for our final approval.
[15:40] Okay.
[15:40] And you agree with the seconder?
[15:42] And seconded by council Morgan, I'll call for the question.
[15:46] All those in favour?
[15:48] Opposed?
[15:50] Great.
[15:52] Okay.
[15:56] So the next one.
[15:58] Again, coming out of
[16:07] the pre-election and campaign discussions that we had leading up to our being here is an establishment of a counselor hours program so that again, this is to increase accessibility to counselors and solicit more public feedback.
[16:25] So the purpose is to implement a counselor office hours program, which again strengthens public accessibility and engagement and provide
[16:35] providing regular opportunities for people to come here to the administrative office and meeting with counselors.
[16:42] So we have to get together later and manage your schedule so that the sessions are staffed by you.
[16:53] because it'll be either one-on-one or small group on one sessions and we want to increase
[17:00] your accessibility, like I said, and enhance engagement.
[17:03] Also improve the understanding of community concerns so if people are, if there's a concern
[17:08] brewing there they can give and give you a lot more time and you can give them more time to
[17:13] understand more deeply the nature of the concern and that hopefully will build a stronger relationship
[17:18] between the residents and council and give greater transparency to our decision-making process.
[17:25] So, again, I'll go around. I'll start the side. If there are any questions or concerns you would
[17:30] like to deal with about the Councillor Administration. So, maybe just a question. We will develop some
[17:37] sort of a form so we can gather people's tombstone information and then the body of the conversation
[17:48] So there would be a form that you would probably have as they come in to get through information, or they could book it online and fill out some information.
[17:58] The actual mechanics we haven't worked out because we haven't got that, but we need to get the process started so we can initiate it.
[18:05] Councillor coming out.
[18:08] So again, I would just like to walk into it confidently going, this is the direction, this is going to go, this is where it goes.
[18:15] and not just have words that I don't fully.
[18:19] I just need it to make sense and be,
[18:22] feel like I'm trained on it,
[18:24] because I still don't feel like I have confidence
[18:26] of where things go, what the process is,
[18:28] what the backgrounders are.
[18:30] I feel like, yeah, it's a physical, sorry.
[18:34] I agree, it's kind of a frightening thing to go in cold,
[18:37] and it's a bit of a, you feel kind of vulnerable
[18:40] when you can't know every single thing
[18:43] that people could bring forward you,
[18:44] But I think if, for those that are uncertain, I don't mind coming in and piggybacking with any
[18:52] Councillors that are concerned at the start, but I really want to, my focus and I think
[18:56] everybody kind of talked about that focus is to get people talking to us and not on Facebook.
[19:03] So we want to hear the real issues and hear what people's real concerns are so that we can
[19:08] build it into our long-term strategy.
[19:11] Councillor, sorry, Deputy Mayor Greenlaw.
[19:14] Yeah, I'm good with that.
[19:15] So, if we're going to do like an online sign-up thing,
[19:19] is there going to be walk-ins as well?
[19:22] So, what I'm thinking is, for instance, if you had four or five people,
[19:27] is there a time limit?
[19:28] Do we want to put a time limit on it?
[19:29] If there's people waiting, you can have ten minutes or, you know, do you want to?
[19:33] That's what I'm thinking.
[19:37] We'll sit out in the hallway for an hour waiting to see you.
[19:47] Councilor Porter, we'll start going down that way.
[19:50] Thank you Mayor Backman.
[19:51] I just have three little things and they're all related to the same thing.
[19:55] So I've seen no reference in here about how many times a week we'll be doing this.
[20:01] Will it be like Monday, Wednesday, Friday or every day?
[20:05] I think it was one day a week, one afternoon a week, so it'd be like a one or two hour session
[20:12] and be established based on schedule and be one councillor every week.
[20:17] So your rotation would be every six week or seventh week.
[20:23] Oh, I thought you had two more questions.
[20:27] So councillor best.
[20:29] So a couple of questions I would have, and as first of all around sort of the location,
[20:36] just thinking about privacy and confidentiality when people do come in.
[20:39] And on that note, also security, if we do have, you know, someone who's really irate
[20:45] or something like that, what will be in place to deal with those types of situations.
[20:51] I do want to say, I do think that these are a great idea.
[20:54] I don't think that you're ever going to keep everybody off of Facebook by doing it, but I
[20:57] do think at least it's another opportunity, another option.
[21:01] So those were two concerns, and everything that everyone else has brought up, I agree
[21:05] with as well, that those are questions that I would have.
[21:08] The other thing is, is I would like to see, and if we're going to implement something
[21:16] like this, that it is more of a pilot.
[21:20] And I think that it should be somehow quantified.
[21:23] Because if we go ahead and invest the time, and it is a lot of time and energy for everyone
[21:29] to be there and to take on, you know, this very important role, how do we know at the end
[21:35] to fit if it was actually successful without any numbers of people who attended, numbers
[21:40] of issues discussed, and what was the outcome of those.
[21:45] And I'm a bit concerned about having this as a new process when we don't have any processes
[21:51] in place for dealing with email correspondence or phone call correspondence and that kind
[21:57] of thing.
[21:58] So I feel like this is adding another layer of complexity around gathering input from people
[22:03] and being engaged but no real way to measure or to track it and to make sure that we actually
[22:09] resolve or close the loop for people. So that's probably the main thing that I'm concerned about
[22:15] with this one. I do think it's a good idea, but I think that more needs to go into thinking about
[22:20] the mechanics and that it definitely needs to be measurable. And at the end of a pilot, if that was
[22:25] the way that we went, then at least we would have some information that would help us to justify
[22:30] Yes, we went ahead with it or no, we weren't getting any updates, so therefore we shouldn't, we should just dissolve it.
[22:36] So, thank you.
[22:38] No, I think you raised a number of really good issues, like security, I think the plan, or at least my initial plan, was to either meet here, which is an open space and you've got the whole staff right behind you here.
[22:50] So there's I think that that's good although I'm not expecting many I rate people if if you keep that lines of communication open and people that are felt heard I think the level drops so and then in terms of it is a pilot and because if nobody shows up when they will know right very quickly whether or not it's it's an avenue people want to give feedback on if we get really busy and part of the the follow-up will be each counselor that
[23:20] But does that is going to produce a summary report to report back to Council.
[23:25] And either summarize it, you don't have to give specifics of the individual, but
[23:29] you can, you know, summarize the nature of the complaints and concerns.
[23:32] And then we can start looking at how big of a scope and is this a one-off situation,
[23:37] or is it actually happening in a number of locations and people have a generalized concern?
[23:41] So that comes into the processing afterwards.
[23:44] But we need to get a, I would like to get the mechanism out there that gets people giving
[23:49] feedback to us. And we become accessible.
[23:55] Okay, last.
[23:58] Just to touch on Deputy Mayor Greenlaw's point about a number of councillors for the
[24:04] meeting. So if there was a registration or something like that, let's say we had ten
[24:07] or fifteen people want to show up, would we set up then to have multiple councillors as
[24:11] well? That way it's not just, you know, your schedule day to be here having to deal with
[24:16] multiple people like that, or at that point having enough counselors here, so we can get a fair sort of interview or conversation with each constituent all in kind of one big go.
[24:27] Thank you. I would hope that's the case. I hope we get tons of people coming and talk to us, and that's a good problem. That's a problem we can solve by adding, you know, increasing the number of people.
[24:39] But generally, I'm expecting a few people each time and have a nice one-on-one conversation or a small group say a,
[24:46] We're going to do with the kids from the Boys and Girls Club and have them come and make a presentation and we can talk to them.
[24:54] So I think we've got a couple of weeks before the next council means to sort some of those issues out, but I think that's a really valid point and I appreciate that.
[25:05] Thank you.
[25:07] So, I'll call, oh, sorry, follow up, okay, Councillor Arbor.
[25:13] Just to Councillor Bess's comments there, I know we've talked about media training and
[25:18] I think some de-escalation training, de-escalation methods might be good idea if we're going
[25:22] to do this. As you noted, you could get somebody come in that's upset and, you know, rather than
[25:27] make things worse, you should understand how to make sure that you can handle the situation.
[25:30] So we might include that in some of the training.
[25:32] Oh,
[25:36] Councillor Brest.
[25:39] One other question is, would these sessions be having access to Councillors apply only
[25:47] to residents of St. Stephen?
[25:51] Well, the whole municipal district of St. Stephen.
[25:54] Yeah.
[25:55] If they, we would have to ask them, are you a resident, and if they said no, they wouldn't
[26:00] qualify to meet with us?
[26:02] I wouldn't disqualify them, and a bit just question if somebody from outside the municipality
[26:07] what their objective is, but yeah, oh, councilor Porter.
[26:17] Just one other thing I think we need to consider is that everybody that works isn't able to attend in the daytime usually.
[26:23] So we probably should consider an evening time, at least for one of the sessions.
[26:32] Yeah, good, no, since I've been retired, I forget everybody else has to work.
[26:36] So, yeah, a valid point, well taken. Thank you. So, could I have a motion that we put this
[26:45] except the idea and put it on for the next council? Okay, moved by Councillor Porter, seconded
[26:52] by Councillor Wessor-Linke. I'll call for the question. All those in favor? Opposed?
[27:00] carried.
[27:03] Okay, so number three, which is I think what
[27:11] I've heard a number of people talking
[27:13] about already and that is to add to create a couple of Councillor training sessions. Five out
[27:18] of a six of our Councillors are green and new and feeling a bit abandoned or lost in the wilderness.
[27:28] This might be a better description.
[27:31] So I've sat down with Jeff and we've looked at a couple of issues, and
[27:36] to see, to come up with a training program to help new counselors and
[27:39] existing counselors understand the process and
[27:43] plus open it up for some specific training requests so that we can be all more
[27:49] equipped to do our jobs appropriately.
[27:51] So, with that, we're going to try to facilitate at least two, maybe three, or more depending
[28:01] on how the first two go.
[28:03] So, sessions and the first one being municipal governments.
[28:11] So how do you create a motion?
[28:13] What are your responsibilities as a councillor?
[28:16] What can you do as a councillor?
[28:17] What can you not do as a councillor?
[28:19] and go through some of those procedures and ideas so that we're better equipped to answer questions of the public and better equipped to ask questions of our administration.
[28:31] And the second is maybe Councillor Porter might be able to assist with this one and that is finance for the non-financial manager type course so that it's so that we're all become better aware and better trained on how budgets are created,
[28:47] how we manage budgets, how we look at budgets, how we determine the success or failure of our budgeting process.
[28:53] So that would be the second session and I'm also open to a third and fourth session of other topics,
[29:00] which we feel that we might need to be addressed and I've been assured that our staff is going to be more than helpful in helping to get through those processes.
[29:11] So
[29:13] one more round of questions, so I'll do what I haven't started with the beginning.
[29:18] I'll start with Councillor Greenlock, or Deputy Mayor Greenlock.
[29:21] Yeah, I think more training the better.
[29:23] You can never have too much training, the continuous improvement.
[29:27] I like some of the stuff that Jeff put together with regards to flow charts.
[29:33] It helps you if you get a problem, you start here, and it'll walk you through the process so that you hit all the right steps.
[29:38] So I think that kind of stuff is definitely going to help everybody.
[29:43] I'm a big fan of training, so Councillor Cunningham.
[29:48] So I'm looking forward to training, making sure that I can follow the processes that they're clear.
[29:53] I'd love opportunity for lots of questions to be able to-
[30:00] Questions doesn't cut it. I think there's a lot of questions that can get thrown in the middle and ones that are very specific to our municipalities. So I'd like to go from the ideas to the actual, because I want to be able to take concerns that I have piled up all over the place. How do I address those? Because that's the loop that I want to switch and get dealt with. So. Very, very valid point. And actually part of the process to develop the training sessions will be.
[30:29] The council are submitting areas which they would like to be addressed and so that we can
[30:36] maybe even produce some theoretical scenarios so that you can have a test run so that we
[30:43] maybe do some mock council meetings, we'll do some mock citizen concerns or any of them
[30:50] to mock citizen concerns with a lot of controversy so we can see how we can go through the steps
[30:55] to manage those appropriately within the, yeah, within the direction of the, I'm going to call it the Municipality Act, but it's a local governance act.
[31:05] That'll show you my age.
[31:07] Senator, Councillor Morgan.
[31:10] No, I think the train's a good idea, and I'm on board for that, and it's like, so we're all on the, so we all get on the same page, and our messaging is clear consistent, consistent, the constituents, so we're not sending it more confusion, and we'll get all this minus.
[31:22] It is, it makes our lives better.
[31:25] So count, I'll start with Councillor Bess, I haven't done her on the first side.
[31:30] First on her side yet.
[31:33] I'm totally on board with the training.
[31:36] I know I have a ton of questions and a lot to learn and so anything that we can learn from
[31:40] the administration to, you know, work better, work better together is great and I agree with
[31:47] Bernie too, that as, or sorry, Councilor, I'm sorry, that as thorough as it can be and
[31:53] the hands-on, the, you know, test cases, you know, the scenarios that those are really
[31:57] helpful.
[31:58] So yeah, I definitely agree with it.
[32:01] Okay.
[32:02] Councilor Westerling.
[32:04] I agree with more training as well.
[32:06] I'm just a young pup, ready to learn some new tricks, so I'm all for it.
[32:12] Thank you.
[32:13] I'm in favor of training, and this is just the start of it, so as Deputy Mayor Green
[32:18] There's another good one there for dealing with customers, so worth taking.
[32:24] Perfect, so thank you very much and so your assignment will be to create that list of questions you need answered.
[32:32] But before I ask you to do that homework, I have to get you permission to put it on the next agenda.
[32:38] So could I have a motion to put it on the next agenda?
[32:41] Thank you, so Councillor Westerling and seconded by Councillor Morgan, I'll call for the question.
[32:47] All those in favor?
[32:48] Aye.
[32:49] Opposed?
[32:50] Carried.
[32:52] We're playing along.
[32:54] Okay.
[32:56] So last or the second last of the new business is a starting the 2027 budget development process.
[33:05] And this again is another promise we had made during the campaign.
[33:09] And that was to push back the start date of the budget process so we could solicit more input from the community.
[33:17] And Jeff's done a nice job here producing a multi-phase report and with a lot of dates in milestones for creating the budget and submitting it.
[33:27] And so, officially, if you got, if you, if Council accepts it tonight, the budget process will have been open for the 2027.
[33:36] And so it's going to go through multiple phases, but basically, it's to get public input so
[33:45] that we can strategically align it with our strategic plan that we've been working on and
[33:50] avoid to communicate our goals and a way for the public to communicate their goals and
[33:54] make sure that we're both aligned with the same goal process.
[33:58] this. So there's several phases in this. And first of all, there'll be a public consultation
[34:05] period and they can do that either online, we'll have dated sessions. So the community
[34:14] can submit their submissions and ask for anything they want. So if you had the perfect
[34:19] town and you wanted everything, write it down and tell us what you want in St. Stephen.
[34:23] And then our administration will gather that, summarize it, cost it out, and we'll tell you how much it's going to cost you in your next year's tax bill.
[34:35] And then we'll have follow-up consultation periods and online consultation periods where you can say, well, that's a little steep, maybe better cut that back a little bit, here's what's less important.
[34:45] and will prune down the budget till it becomes an acceptable cost, and an acceptable delivery of services and processes.
[34:55] So I think in case there's any other questions, I'm just going to start around again and we'll start with Councillor Porter since this is the budget.
[35:05] Thanks, I'm good with everything here, so Councillor Brest.
[35:11] I really like the level of detail and the entire plan.
[35:17] I think that it's obviously all the dates are great and it's achievable, hopefully.
[35:23] I mean, it's always challenging to stick with our schedule, so hopefully we will actually
[35:29] achieve the schedule.
[35:31] I guess two questions that I have are around with all the deliverables that are in here or
[35:38] the tactics that are in here around seeking public input.
[35:47] We've done most of them in the past.
[35:50] Have they been successful enough to justify doing it again? And I guess, how do we measure
[35:56] success? I don't know, is it just numbers or what level of engagement have we had? And
[36:01] the other question I have is the actual resourcing. So there's no mention in here about the financial
[36:07] implications, how much morality is going to cost, and that's one of the things that Council is supposed to know before we approve this kind of a proposal.
[36:16] Yeah, so those are the two things that I'm wondering.
[36:20] Okay, I'll defer the financial one to Jeff since he's worked out the plan.
[36:28] Yeah, so there's not significant financial, it's all within our operating budget for things like hosting our open houses and whatnot.
[36:37] But as far as what we've done in the past, I would say that over the years it's been
[36:44] mixed results, depending on the year.
[36:48] Some of the people that are seeing around this table have sat through budget meetings
[36:52] with me before, where my goal is to step that up another level here with a little bit more
[36:59] opportunity for not only the input, but also the feedback loop on it by starting earlier.
[37:04] We have more time to do that, and I think what we, when it comes to the, what I would say is the most significant policy document for municipal council to pass, which is the budget, even when attendance is lower at some of the meetings and stuff, you don't want to walk away from it, yet you have to provide the opportunity, because it may be two people that show up, but they might have great ideas too.
[37:33] If you don't want to remove that, so what we've built here is an intent to make it a little
[37:42] more robust than we have in the past, more opportunities and both more opportunities
[37:46] and Councillor or Deputy Mayor Greenwell can speak this too.
[37:49] I think there's more opportunities here for the Council administration back and forth
[37:53] than we've historically had on the budget documents as well by starting earlier and creating
[37:59] more time. So I think in general, and we always do those meetings in public as well.
[38:05] So that's another public, these viewable portion of the dialogue around the budget.
[38:11] So I think we're, I think it's a good plan. I don't think it's going to be
[38:15] over the owners on any of the resourcing. I see that looking at Frank who just the back,
[38:23] the backroom side of it and they sell sheets and I tend to take on the public, more public facing
[38:28] elements of the budget process, it's standard course for our yearly operations.
[38:37] So I don't think there's any challenges there, but certainly the biggest challenge,
[38:41] I think is correctly identified, is staying on the timelines.
[38:44] We, other things pop up and what that things happen.
[38:49] But we also know that November 15th is a looming date in the legislation and have every intention
[38:56] of hitting that data for the final adoption.
[39:00] Thank you, Jeff.
[39:02] Yeah, so we're adding another two months to the process.
[39:06] So we have to be able to get this feedback.
[39:08] We've got two more extra months of breathing space.
[39:13] Now, we're putting stuff in that breathing space,
[39:15] but I'm confident that we can pull it off.
[39:18] And like I say, that November 15 deadline
[39:21] is carved in titanium.
[39:24] It doesn't move.
[39:27] So,
[39:30] we're going to end up with Councillor Westerling.
[39:35] Yeah, I mean the timeline looks, I don't say aggressive, but it's certainly achievable.
[39:41] I'm okay with how this is laid out as it's presented.
[39:44] And yeah, if we buck it down state of the timeline, we shouldn't have any issues.
[39:49] Councillor Morgan.
[39:52] Yeah, it looks well thought out to me.
[39:53] I like to plan the phases.
[39:55] And what would be like rolling this out on our web page and our social media so that the constituency the whole plan if they're not here to make?
[40:05] Actually, the phase one has already been launched. It was launched on Monday. A number of residents have already taken up the opportunity to submit via the online portion.
[40:17] And so it is on the website.
[40:19] It was also sent out by Alertable, which also had our Facebook feeds.
[40:23] So it is out there, and people are taking us up on it.
[40:28] So that's a good part.
[40:31] So yeah, we'll just keep working the program as it goes.
[40:35] Perfect, thank you.
[40:37] Councillor Cunningham.
[40:39] So I think it looks pretty good.
[40:41] I attended the public engagement.
[40:44] I came in lots of information so I think that's valuable.
[40:48] The one thing I would see if it's possible that the engagement that people put in, that they end up feeling like it made a difference.
[40:57] So I don't know if that transfers where the constituents really feel like the time spent made an impact on what did their voice make a difference when they came and showed up.
[41:13] Oh, thank you, and I think we heard that during the campaign as well, but I think by having
[41:19] them give us feedback, information out front, distilling it, presenting it to them and then
[41:26] getting a second round of feedback and they'll see where their impact or their feedback is
[41:31] actually having an impact on our direction.
[41:34] And so I think it's because if you give feedback once and you don't see an impact, you assume
[41:40] that the decision was made before they asked for the feedback, but we're asking for feedback before any decisions are made.
[41:46] We're going to distill it, present back the options, and then the feedback will drive the rest of it.
[41:53] So I'm hoping by giving more accountability and more transparency that people will buy into it, because they'll understand it and they'll see what's actually happening.
[42:03] Count, Deputy Mayor Greenlaw.
[42:06] Yeah, it looks great.
[42:08] I think it's very important that this gets put out there so that as many people as possible
[42:14] know.
[42:15] And I really want to encourage everybody to come.
[42:17] There's a lot of variables this year with the property tax freeze coming off, with the
[42:22] new regulations and legislation around what we can and can't do with tax rates, you know,
[42:28] You've got RCMP contracts, there's all kinds of variables coming into this budget process.
[42:33] And the more people that come out in here and listen and learn,
[42:36] the better you're going to understand.
[42:38] And to Councillor Cunningham's point, it's always good after the process is finished and
[42:42] we've already established the tax rates or whatever to go back and ask some of the people,
[42:46] how did you feel about that whole process?
[42:48] So it's like a quality control check, so I'd like to see that.
[42:51] Thank you.
[42:53] Perfect, awesome comments.
[42:53] So could I have a motion to put this before the next council meeting as a move by Councillor
[43:03] Cunningham, seconded by Councillor Best. Call for the question. All those in favour?
[43:10] Opposed?
[43:12] Carried.
[43:15] The last item is an agenda item that I add it. And first before I go into that addition,
[43:21] I'd like to thank Deputy Mayor Greenlaw for being me for the last, for a couple of key appointments.
[43:30] And so he filled in as the mayor for the last council meeting, and he also represented me in Calis.
[43:36] And at the Southwest Service, oh no, that was Council reporter at the Southwest Service Commission.
[43:41] While I was away getting my continuing education for my professional life.
[43:45] So I appreciate all the backup and people stepping up and doing all that.
[43:49] So, with that, there's one item of correspondence, and I think Councillor Greenlock can take a bow for it, so I think you wanted to read that into Council's minutes today.
[44:00] Do you want to set it up and explain what it is first?
[44:03] No, okay.
[44:04] All right, well, so Mayor Bachman did up a nice speech and letter for the City Council in callus,
[44:16] and, you know, to celebrate their 250th, and he also created himself, crafted a nice
[44:25] gavel, which had the gavel was actually the head of an eagle, and that in a nice basket
[44:32] from Genongs was presented to Council. So I was over there, Councillor Cunningham,
[44:41] Councillor Morgan, and Councillor Bess also attended. It was very good. We got to see
[44:46] some of their council process, and they've good issues too, they're working through budget issues, but anyway, it was very good.
[45:00] So I'll read that. On behalf of the City of Calis, we extend our sincere appreciation to the town of St. Stephen for your generous and thoughtful gift basket and beautifully carved mayor's gavel presented in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Your kindness and generosity are deeply appreciated. The handcrafted gavel is not only a meaningful symbol of civic leadership and public service, but it also represents the enduring friendship and mutual respect shared between our neighboring communities. The gift basket further reflects the warm
[45:29] warmth and hospitality for which St. Stephen's will know.
[45:32] Although an international border separates our municipalities, our history, traditions,
[45:37] and daily lives have long demonstrated that friendship knows no boundaries.
[45:41] For generations, the people of Calis and St. Stephen have enjoyed a unique relationship,
[45:45] built on cooperation, mutual support, and a shared commitment to strengthening our cross-border communities.
[45:51] As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States,
[45:54] we are especially grateful to receive such a thoughtful gesture from our Canadian neighbors.
[45:59] It serves as a reminder that our partnership extends far beyond geography and is rooted
[46:04] in respect, goodwill, and a shared vision for the future.
[46:07] Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your generosity and friendship.
[46:10] We look forward to continuing the strong relationship between our communities for many years to come.
[46:15] And that was signed by the mayor and all of the councillors.
[46:23] And I apologize for not getting there, but Callus has always been a sister community for us.
[46:30] In fact, Councillor Morehead, his father graduated with my mother-in-law, so those connections
[46:37] run deep and they're long historical, so we very much appreciate the relationship we've
[46:40] had with all our neighbors in the St. Croix Valley, so it's a very positive note to end
[46:46] on, so with that, I think that's the end of the agenda, and I'll ask for a motion to close
[46:53] for tonight's evening, so can I have a motion?
[46:58] Okay. Can I have moved by Councillor Greenland for the closed session and seconded by Councillor
[47:06] Westerling that we move into a closed session and I'll call for the question.
[47:14] All those
[47:15] in favour? Opposed?
[47:18] Carried. So I'll give a five minute recess while we empty out and then
[47:22] Thank you.